A: IRA. 401(k). Roth. These are the types of retirement accounts many beginning investors know are important, but may not completely understand.

The fact is, no, you don't need to use any of these retirement accounts to save for retirement. It's just these special accounts make it a whole lot easier to accumulate a nest egg if you take the time to understand what they are.

The standard brokerage account, technically, would work fine for people looking to save for retirement. And traditional brokerage accounts have their benefit in that you can take the money out whenever you want and for whatever reason without paying a penalty.